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North Koreans in Need of Assistance; Triumphant Rescue of a Football Team; Trump Not Mincing Words with Allies; Desperate Parents Unable to Reunite with their Children; : Rescued Boys And Coach In Good Condition; China Plan For New Tariffs Unacceptable; Trump Complaints About Defense Spending In Meeting; France Into World Cup Final With Win Over Belgium; Ronaldo's Reign At Real; Japan Faces Tough Recovery After Floods; Trump To Give Kim Jong-un Rocketman CD. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 11, 2018 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TUSK, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: America, appreciate your allies. After all, you don't have that many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: A chilly reception awaits the U.S. president in Brussels as Donald Trump gets ready to meet with NATO allies he has repeatedly criticized.

We have a live report ahead.

Plus, the miraculous rescue is over in Thailand. All the boys and their coach safe and sound. Thanks to the heroic efforts of so many. We'll have the moments that won't be forgotten anytime soon.

And one down, one to go. France has punched their ticket to the World Cup finals, so who will join them?

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade, and this is CNN Newsroom.

U.S. President Donald Trump is about to sit down for breakfast with NATO's secretary-general. It kicks off a summit that is expected to be tense. Even before arriving in Brussels Mr. Trump was slamming allies for not paying enough for defense and for trade policies that he views as unfair.

We'll have a live report from Brussels in just a few moments.

We're also learning new details about U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with North Korean officials last week. A source describes the feeling at the White House that the trip went as badly as it could have gone. And it did not move the relationship between the two countries forward. The source said Pompeo had also been promised a meeting with Kim Jong-

un, so not getting one cent, a pretty big message.

The U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock is in Pyongyang and joins us with more reaction. He is there assessing the massive humanitarian crisis, which he says isn't getting the attention it deserves. There was a lot of media coverage of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump's historic summit. Good to have you with us.

MARK LOWCOCK, U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF: It's nice to be you.

KINKADE: There's no doubt that North Korea is one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Kim Jong-un exercises almost total control. Dissidents are blown up, workers often malnourished. You're there right now inspecting the farms and schools. What have you witnessed?

LOWCOCK: Well, what I've seen is a country where there's a need for humanitarian assistance, where large numbers of children are malnourished, where maybe half the children in rural areas are drinking contaminated water, where there are hospitals with there are life saving drugs.

I went yesterday to a hospital in the southwest of the country in the province bordering Korea. That hospital has 140 patients who need lifesaving drugs for tuberculosis, and they only have enough drugs for 40 of those people.

So there is a humanitarian need in this country and independent of their crucial talks that are going on of other issues. Meeting that need is an important thing to do.

KINKADE: Yes, it certainly has been an issue that has been overlooked. I just want to play some sound from Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State who recently went to North Korea. Let's just take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We have good faith, productive conversations which will continue in the days and weeks ahead. We had detailed and substantive discussions about the next steps towards a fully verified and complete denuclearization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: So, Mike Pompeo there saying that the meeting was very productive. But according to North Korean state media, North Korea said it was deeply regrettable and that issues insisted upon by the U.S. are the same cancerous ones of past U.S. administrations. Are you concerned that failed diplomacy could lead to an even greater humanitarian crisis?

LOWCOCK: Well, what I would say to you is I had a meeting today with the president of that city and who is like the head of state in this country. And what he said to me is that the process of this going on at these summits and talks is extremely important to them. And everybody wants them to succeed.

But independently of that there is a very large number of people in the country who need humanitarian assistance. And although there are sanctions in place, put in place by the U.N. Security Council, it's an explicit agreement by all members of the Security Council humanitarian assistance should be exempt from the sanctions.

[03:04:57] So I think everybody agrees that there is a need to meet the basic needs of people who unless we continue to do the work that the U.N. agencies like the UNICEF the children's agency or the U.N. World Food Program have been doing very successfully, you know, those people will suffer. And that's not what anyone wants.

KINKADE: U.S. President Trump never even mentioned the humanitarian rights when asked about it ahead of the meeting and ask at the meeting with Kim Jong-un. What specifically would you like him to know?

LOWCOCK: What I'd like him to know is that there's a humanitarian need here, that the U.N. agencies can do a good job in meeting that need. We don't currently have the level of resources that would be desirable.

The U.N. is appealing for about $110 million this year for our lifesaving work. So far we've received about $11 million. And with a little bit more money we can definitely reduce a lot of suffering and save many lives, and that's in everyone's interest.

KINKADE: All right. Michael Lowcock -- Mark Lowcock, sorry, we'll have to leave it there for now but really great to get your perspective there from Pyongyang. Thanks so much.

LOWCOCK: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, in Brussels President Trump he is expected to have breakfast shortly with NATO secretary-general. The Brexit of course coming as world leaders begin arriving for that meeting.

These are live pictures we're seeing from Brussels awaiting the president's arrival. I want to bring in Nic Robertson. Given the tension and the criticism we've seen from President Trump in the lead up to this summit, can we expect that this sort of meal won't leave a bad taste in most people's mouth that are there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think this is something that Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is going to try and address right over, you know, right off the bat, you know, with President Trump.

Look, they have a fairly decent relationship already, but Stoltenberg he's likely going to remind the president, look, you know, we've had differences at NATO before, we've got big differences right now. We don't agree on climate change with you and the United States. We don't agree over pulling out of the JCPOA with Iran. We don't agree with, you know, several different things.

But that doesn't mean NATO has to fall apart. We may not agree on the -- we may not agree on the payment of, you know, 2 percent of GDP to be spent on defense spending, which is NATO commitment. We may not agree on the sequencing of all of that, but our alliance is strong, it's been getting stronger.

And this is -- this is a way that we can move forward through discussions. We've gone over these historic problems before like the Suez crisis in 1956. So that's likely to be the sort of scene setup that they'll hear from the president, President Trump will hear from Jens Stoltenberg.

But also he will obviously been hearing from Donald Tusk, the European Council president who said just yesterday, who said yesterday that -- who said yesterday that it's not just about the money that's important. It's about the contribution of blood and treasure, 870 NATO men, service men and women died in support of the United States in Afghanistan since coming to the United States' side when it was attacked on September 11, 2001.

So this is the type of things that President Trump will hear coming back at him, and I think these are the types of things that it's hoped will keep, you know, NATO united and strong.

KINKADE: Donald Trump is far from the first U.S. president to criticize and complain about other countries not paying their fair share when it comes to defense. How is this different? How is this time different?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think it's different this time because people recognize the NATO ally leaders recognize that this administration is fundamentally different because President Trump doesn't approach this with the diplomacy that previous U.S. presidents have approached it with.

He approaches it with bombast, with vigor and in some people's eyes a degree of bullying. And they don't feel -- many of them don't feel that that's the right way to handle a relationship amongst allies, that he seems to be more prone to granting favors to his enemies than allies.

So I think that's, you know, that's one part of the picture. But I think another part of the picture is the fact that, you know, there's other issues outside of the military alliance of NATO. There's this sort of whole trade war going on in the background.

The G7 summit that was just held in Quebec and Canada, President Trump parted company there with many of the people he'll be facing here today. Justin Trudeau of Canada, Angela Merkel of Germany, Emmanuel Macron of France, Theresa May of Britain. You know, really logger heads over trade and still are.

[03:10:10] So that's -- that is a difference of the way that the relationships between these leaders are formed. An of course it is the relationships of these leaders that keep the countries together. And there is a political price to be paid when one ally member is seen not to -- is seen not to sort of act in the unified fashion with the others. That's certainly something that they fear that Russia would like to exploit.

KINKADE: All right. Nic Robertson for us, our international diplomatic editor in Brussels. Thank you so much.

Well, doctors in Thailand say 12 boys and their football coach rescued from a flooded cave are in surprisingly good mental and physical condition.

The last group of rescuers there receiving a hero's welcome after completing what was a very complicated and dangerous three-day operation. It captivated audiences around the world. The final four boys and their coach were freed Tuesday.

They were trapped for more than two weeks deep underground. Now all 13 members of the group are in the hospital recuperating.

Meanwhile, the Thai navy SEALS are being praised for their extraordinary work. They shared this photo of four men who took part in the international recovery effort.

Well, for more on the boys and the coach I want to go to Chiang Rai, Thailand. CNN's Ivan Watson has been following the story very closely and certainly as have the rest of the world. Everyone concerned about these boys and their coach. How are they doing now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the doctors are giving them a pretty positive bill of health. There was a briefing from the provision capital of Chiang Rai where the boys are being held in quarantine right now, where the rescuers who spent more than a week underground in the cavern helping maintain the boy's health were there also being looked after right now. And they say that the conditions look pretty good. Take a listen to an excerpt from that briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THONGCHAI LERTWILAIRATANAPONG, INSPECTOR GENERAL, THAILAND PUBLIC HEALTH MINISTRY (through translator): Almost all of them showed symptoms of lung infection because they all had high levels of white blood cells. So the blood samples are being sent back now. If we don't find any abnormality, we will stop intravenous injection sooner than planned. So far the assessment of their health is very, very good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So, you know, Lynda, the boys came out, the rescue operation was staggered. There were four that emerged on Sunday, four more boys on Monday, and then the final four boys, their adult coach and the four rescuers who had been with them for a week underground, they all emerged on Tuesday evening.

So their treatment is kind of staggered. Their reintroduction to solid foods after more than two weeks of initially no food at all, and then kind of gel packs that were providing some nutrition.

They're being phased into having their blind folds and sunglasses removed because their vision, of course, had suffered being in the dark and not exposed to natural light for a long time. And they're being reintroduced to their families.

That is being phased as the quarantine around them shrinks this sterile zone around them to ensure that they in their weakened state, their weakened immune systems, that they're not introduced to anything that could hurt them.

Because of course, the rescuers, the government have invested so much in this remarkable rescue, they want to make sure nothing goes wrong in these critical hours and days after their escape and especially after one former Thai navy SEAL gave his life last week in the rescue effort. They want to make sure that no mistakes, no additional threats to their health can come up in these critical hours. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes, certainly sounds like they are very good hands. Ivan Watson, thanks so much.

Still to come, detained children and parents in limbo as a court ordered deadline to reunite some of them comes and goes.

Plus, British Prime Minister Theresa May is betting her political future on a Brexit plan some say is already doomed. How Britain's great political survivor is fighting on.

And later, there's a party in Paris, as team France books their ticket to the World Cup final. We'll show you the goal that did it.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

KINKADE: Well, the (AUDIO GAP) had until Tuesday legally to reunite more than 100 children with parents from whom they were separated at the southern border. It happened for this father and son in Texas.

But a few dozen others and many are still in limbo as CNN's Rosa Flores explains.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Children getting loaded onto buses in Arizona and Texas, that's as much as the public has been able to see of the possible reunifications of young children with their parents.

The process has been chaotic. Of the 102 children under 5 years old that a California judge ordered to be reunited by today, at least 38 are expected to happen. The rest, still in the process. In a call with reporters a health and human services official said--

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our process may not be as quick as some would like, but there is no question that it is protecting children.

(END VOICE CLIP)

FLORES: The reason, government officials are checking parent's backgrounds, claiming if they don't then--

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would be putting them in the care of a rapist, a kidnapper, a child abuser and someone who's charged with murder in their own nation.

(END VOICE CLIP)

FLORES: But for mothers like Sydney Madrid who are still separated the nightmare continues.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KINKADE: Well, the U.S. late Tuesday defended its handling of the situation. The head of the department in charge of family reunifications calls America charitable and generous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We had today to reunite kids four and under subject to child welfare protection, and we've been working closely with the court on that balance of timeliness but while protecting child welfare.

So, by today, we should have 38 children who have been reunited. But the remaining ones are children whose parents didn't confirm to be parents. They were lying about being parents, they're demonstrably being unfit. We got one alleged to be a murderer, one who is a kidnapper, one rapist, one who is a trafficker, one alleged by the child to be a child abuser.

[03:19:59] We've got another 23 who are unavailable because they're in martial service custody or jails or have been deported, and then finally, another 25 where we have not completed the parent checks or criminal background checks or they have been released into the interior of the country.

And we continue to work very collaboratively with the court on all of these. Our central mission is protecting child welfare while still reuniting families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I want to go back to Brussels now where U.S. President Trump is meeting with NATO allies over breakfast. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're protecting Germany, we're protecting France. We're protecting everybody, and yet we're paying a lot of money to protect.

Now, this has been going on for decades. This has been brought up by other presidents but other presidents never did anything about it because I don't think they understood it or they just didn't want to get involved.

But I have to bring it up because I think it's very unfair to our country, it's very unfair to our taxpayers. And I think that these countries have to step it up, not over a 10-year period, they have to step it up immediately.

Germany is a rich country. They're talking about an increase with this tiny bit by 2030. Well, they could increase it immediately tomorrow and have no problem. I don't think it's fair to the United States.

So we're going to have to do something because we're not going to put up with it. We can't put up with it and it's inappropriate. So we have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that's being paid to the country that we're supposed to be protecting you against.

You know, everybody -- everybody is talking about it. All over the world, they'll say wait a minute, we're supposed to be protecting you from Russia, so why are you paying billions of dollars to Russia for energy? Why are countries in NATO -- NATO with Germany having a large percentage of their energy needs paid, you know, to Russia and they could verify Russia.

Now if you look at it, Germany is a captive of Russia because they supply. They got rid of their (Inaudible), they get rid of their nuclear, and they're getting so much of the oil and gas from Russia.

I think it's something that NATO has to look at. I think it's very inappropriate. You and I agreed that it's inappropriate. I don't know what you can do about it now, but it certainly doesn't seem to make sense that they paid billions of dollars to Russia and now we have to defend them against Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NATO is the alliance of 29 nations and there are some differences and there's also been disagreements. And the gas from Russia to Germany is a small issue where allies have disagreement.

But the strength of NATO is that despite these differences we are all have been able to unite around our cost to protect and defend each other because I understand that we are stronger together than apart. I think the two World Wars under (Inaudible) World Wars that we are stronger together than apart.

TRUMP: How can you be together when a country is getting its energy from the person you want that's actually against (Inaudible) you want protection against?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we understand that when we stand together also when dealing with Russia we are stronger. I think what we can see--

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, you're just making Russia richer. You're not dealing with Russia. You're making Russia richer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think at the end of the Cold War NATO allies who are trading with Russia, there are disagreements about what kind of trade arrangements, for instance, we--

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I think trade is wonderful. I think energy is a whole different story. I think energy is a much different story than normal trade. And you have a country like Poland who doesn't want to accept the gas. You look at some of the countries they won't accept it because they don't want to be captive to Russia.

But Germany as far as I'm concerned is captive to Russia because it's getting so much energy from Russia. So we're supposed to protect your nation but they are getting their energy from Russia. Explain that. I think you have to explain, you know that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you, press. Thank you. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

KINKADE: Well, you're just listening there to the breakfast between U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. officials and the NATO secretary- general and some NATO officials. Clearly a major standoff there.

U.S. President Trump trying to make the case that other countries are not paying their fair share when it comes to spending on defense. He singled out Germany, in particular saying Germany is a rich country and it has a relationship with Russia paying it for energy. He says Germany needs to step up and he said I don't think it's fair to the U.S.

We will continue to cover that NATO summit.

I want to move on now to U.K. British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to reassert her authority after some of her top cabinet ministers resigned in protest over her soft Brexit plan.

Another revolt from hard line Brexiters is possible as the prime minister aims to keep economic ties with the E.U.

[03:25:06] Now President Trump has worked his way into the Brexit discussions just days before he visited London.

CNN's Nina Dos Santos is in -- is in London following all the Brexit drama. And she joins us outside 10 Downing Street. Good to have you with us, Nina. Certainly we have seen more and more resignations over Theresa May's Brexit strategy. How is that playing out?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPPONDENT: Well, what we've seen over the last 24 hours is two vice chairs of the Tory party quitting on that soft stance of Brexit. One of them in particular very alarmed by her plans for an Irish back stop to try and prevent the situation that we could have an island where there could be a hard border with the European Union because it would be the only land border that the U.K. would have with the E.U.

So these two more junior ministers than we've -- or members of the conservative party that we've seen quitting over the last 24 hours after of course the sensational resignations of David Davis who was in charge of the U.K.'s whole Brexit department.

And also, the former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. That just adds to the gradual sense of erosion of authority for the prime minister. But she is managing to hold on here. She's still at number 10 Downing Street about to leave soon to go to that NATO meeting, you hear the U.S. President Donald Trump talk from there.

And of course she's going to go there. But weakened but at the moment she's looking as though she may well have managed to steer clear of any kind of leadership challenge and also have the added benefit of getting rid of two thorns in her side.

Boris Johnson had long been side lined and so David Davis. Neither of those two figures particularly popular over there in Brussels. So, for the moment it's looking quiet on the home front and to the focus will turn towards international affairs at least for the next four days. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes, you speak about them being a thorn in her side. Given that some of her critics have now left the party, is her hand weaker or stronger?

DOS SANTOS: Well, when it comes to the balance of power between those politicians who campaigned to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum and those who campaigned to stay inside, actually that balance has tipped a little bit.

Because what he's done is he's moved very quickly to try and fill some of the big holes in her cabinet namely the foreign secretary position filling that with Jeremy Hunt, a very experienced former health secretary had a difficult brief.

He actually advocated remaining inside the European Union, so she's managed to claim back one remaining seat there. And that means that the top four offices in the land, the prime ministership, obviously the chancellor over there next to her number 11 and the home secretary and also foreign secretary. All of those key positions are now held by people who advocated remaining inside the E.U. And that could bode well for this slightly softer Brexit turn.

That's obviously something that people over in Brussels will be keeping an eye on. But so, she's by no means out of the woods yet.

There's so-called Chequers agreement that she managed to get pushed through her cabinet after a lockdown on Friday is still considered pretty unpopular amongst some of the euro skeptics of her party.

But there's a sense here in Westminster that the numbers so far just don't add up to try and unseat here in a moment that parliament is going to go to recess pretty soon. So, the clock is ticking and there probably may not be enough time to try and shake the cart too much, if you like, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, the clock is certainly ticking. Nina Dos Santos for us outside 10 Downing Street. Thanks so much. Still ahead on CNN Newsroom, an uneasy alliance. U.S. president is in

Brussels about -- well, he is currently facing some NATO members that he's been criticizing.

And it only took one goal for France to advance to their first World Cup final in 12 years. Who they were likely to face? We'll have it for you in just a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's update you on our top stories this hour. The last of the boys trapped in a cave in Thailand are now safety in a hospital. Doctors say they're in good mental and physical condition, but they lost an average of 2 kilograms of body weight during the ordeal. Rescuers brought out the final four boys and their coach on Tuesday.

China is blasting the Trump administration's plan on another $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods calling the move unacceptable. U.S. Officials have identified thousands of items that could face 10 percent tariffs including food, clothing and appliances. Both countries imposed billions of dollars in tariffs against each other on Friday.

U.S. President Trump is meeting with the NATO secretary-general right now once again criticizing alliance members for not paying enough for defense, they took credit for putting countries to contribute $40 billion on NATO in the past year, but said it's not nearly enough. President Trump's combative stance along with his upcoming meeting with Russia's president has made for a tense run up to the summit. Our Frederick Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: President Trump in Europe for three tough meetings with American allies and adversaries. Clear on which meeting he is most comfortable with.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have NATO. I have the U.K. which is in somewhat turmoil, and I have Putin. Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of them all. Who would think?

PLEITGEN: President Trump has ripped into America's NATO partners, saying they don't spend enough on defense while the U.S. shoulders the bulk of the alliances cost. European politicians calling on Trump not to forget who his friends are.

DONALD TUSK, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL: The America appreciate your allies. After all, you don't have that many. Dear Mr. President, please remember about this tomorrow when we meet at the NATO summit.

PLEITGEN: NATO's lost might be the Kremlin's gain. Vladimir Putin's spokesman saying the Russians have nothing to do with the turmoil between America and its allies, but clearly not unhappy about the weakened alliance. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATOR): This was an alliance that was

constructed to serve the purpose of confrontation in our attitude is based on this belief. What the alliance is doing long-term, I mean them getting closer to our border and expanding military infrastructure towards our borders just proves the essence of the alliance.

PLEITGEN: Russian pundits and politicians feel President Trump might be moving America away from its European allies and closer to Russia. State TV even joking that the brits may have staged the recent poisoning of two people with Novichok, the same military grade nerve agent used to poison a former Russian spy in England earlier this year to derail the upcoming Trump-Putin summit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATOR): There's a vast field for conspiracy theories given that Trump is coming to the U.K. and with the NATO summit coming up, they're gearing up to place blame on and prepare Trump ahead of his meeting with Putin.

PLEITGEN: The U.S. allies will be closely watching both the NATO summit and the Trump-Putin meeting, looking to see whether America's President really will have an easier time with the Russian leader than with long-standing partners. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO)

KINKADE: Well, France has bought their way into the World Cup final. That is the goal that did it. (Inaudible) defeated Belgium (inaudible). So who will they meet in the championship match? CNN world sports anchor Patrick Snell is here with their prediction. Of course, England taking on Croatia in a matter of hours. The U.S. supporting the waist coat wearing English coats.

[03:35:05] PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: What gave that away? Yes, it's hashtag waist coat Wednesday. All tribute to head coach (inaudible), but he is going to have a tough job overseeing it with Croatia. Croatia, of course, looking to win a World Cup for the first time in the history, but before we can get ahead to that, how did the French book their place at the expense of the Belgium's?

As we saw, just one goal in enough, I tell you what though, Hugo Lloris, the French international keeper has had an outstanding tournament. Reflexes as sharp as ever in this semifinal. After winning goal from (inaudible) defended, by the way the Belgian midfielder was meant to be picking up, did not pick him up. And I tell you what, (inaudible) trying to make amends with a header of his own. That would have made it 1-1. It goes just wide of the post. And we can say at this point, the Belgian's golden generations starting to lose their shine. Try as they might they couldn't get the equal. Once again Lloris absolutely outstanding in goal, just keeping out everything that came his way. And that is what it means to the French, Lynda, to be through to a third World Cup final in their history. They're looking to repeat what they did in 1998. Other side of the coin, it means heart break for those Belgian players who still have not won a World Cup and won't this year.

KINKADE: Right. Great news from France. We'll have to see how that England-Croatia game goes.

SNELL: I'm absolutely well-dressed for that. Let's look ahead to that game then. I tell you what, there's so much to look forward to there's an American mega star right now in London inviting a certain amount of people to watch the game with him. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, SINGER: We're going to play this England-Croatia match up on my big screens. So come here and we'll watch it together. I mean I want to see it, you want to see it. We all want to see it. We're going to watch this together, and you know what, it's coming home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: J.T., himself, Mr. Timberlake, with offer to a fan. No fan can surely refuse that one ahead of his show tonight in England's capital city. The three lines continue their quest, they're trying to win the World Cup for the first time in over half a century. The last time they did it, 1966. That was before even I was born. I tell you what, by the way, did you know, just confirming, it is in fact officially waist coat Wednesday. Yes, they're all the rage. We got some video, we are just going to show you just how highly in demand in all of this. Is this all down south (inaudible) elegance on the touchline join this World Cup, really has caught the imagination of many fans and many admirers as well. Sending this World Cup campaign started sales of the waist coat reportedly up by about 35 percent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I said this was before I was not a renowned fashion icon throughout my playing career, so it's rather strange to feel that way now, but we are really proud of the support that we are receiving. We can feel the energy and we can feel the support from home and it's a very special privilege for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: A big day for the English. And of course point out that Croatia are going to make it really tough for them today. Later on today, the Croatians are remember as I said, semifinalists 20 years ago. And here's why they should not in any way be underestimated in my opinion, they have star power of plenty to the key players. Both key figures for their club sides Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. The Croatians were extremely impressive as well in the group stages. They won all three of their matches including a trouncing of Lionel Messi and Argentina, 3-0 along the way. So, if they can rediscover back that kind of form, Lynda, it is going to be very tough for England. We shall see, it should be a good game. I think it'll be close.

KINKADE: And just give us the heads up on this news about Cristiano Ronaldo. Is he leaving Real Madrid?

SNELL: You know, for days it appeared to be rumors. I didn't think he would leave Real Madrid, well, he is, you know. He is heading to Italy. He is heading to (inaudible) to join Juventus, Portugal's football superstar is going. The fee reportedly around $117 million. That is CR-7 is lost blank post all-time leading goals scorer. 451 goals during his time across 9 season. He won an absolute glutful of trophies, 16 in total including four champion league titles, just for good measures. He also won four of his five Ballon d'OR awards while he was in Spain. Ronaldo, he set quite a career, he plays for (inaudible) in his career. Well, like the Baltimus well, he penned on an open letter to Real fans saying, look, after much reflection, I feel the time is right to begin what he called actually a new cycle. I tell you this, Italian football fans licking their lips in anticipation. This is good deal for Juventus on paper at least.

[03:40:13] KINKADE: Good deal for him, too, $117 million.

SNELL: Yes, it will be lucrative for all parties. No question about that. Real Madrid as well, are getting more than they actually paid for him. So it is going to be very interesting to see, of course Juventus desperate to win the champions league title again. Will Ronaldo provide that, we shall see?

KINKADE: Let it take. Patrick Snell, good to have you.

Still ahead, a tough recovery for Japan after the worst fighting the country has seen in decades. Now survivors are facing a new weather risk.

Plus a closer look how the football team and their coach got trapped in a cave in Thailand and the unprecedented efforts to get them out.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. Rescue crews in Japan are trying to find survivors after the country's worst floods in almost four decades. At least 176 people were killed when torrential rains led to massive flash floods and triggered landslides. 2 million people forced to plea their homes. Thousands remain without power or running water. Now officials are warning more rain as possible in areas already devastated. The details from CNN's Alexandra Field.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The search goes on in flood ravaged parts of southwest Japan, dozens are still unaccounted for. And every day rescuers declare more lives lost. The rescue operation is now 75,000 strong involving the police and defense force. The rain wreaked havoc and brought so much heart break has stopped, but there are still risks. Damaged infrastructure complicates the rescue efforts, and there's the possibility of more deadly mud slides.

Here in one of Japan's hardest hit prefectures Hiroshima a river clogged with debris overflows Tuesday morning, forcing another round of evacuations. 23,000 more people told to immediately leave their home. Canceling a trip overseas Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the devastated areas and he is looking ahead how to deal with the coming set of challenges including the intense heat.

[03:45:00] He says the government is gearing up to secure necessary items like water, air-conditions and portable toilets. The rising waters and mud slides forced 2 million people from their homes. Thousands of houses are damaged, thousands more are still without power. Here in Okiyama prefecture life as it once was is at a standstill. A Mitsubishi factory and a Panasonic factory were both temporarily hold operations. Smaller businesses can only begin to pick up the pieces. Alexandria Field, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO)

KINKADE: Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, joins us now from the International Weather Center with another storm causing more concern. This time in China.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. This is pretty significant typhoon there, Lynda. Good seeing you and you know, we're talking about a similar sort of setup when it comes to the amount of rainfall that could come down in this region of China and Taiwan is even felt the storm. The storm actually initially made landfall across these southern areas there, the (inaudible) Island, Hirata, Ishigaki based on the direct impacts of the system. At about 200 millimeters of rainfall with this, winds up wards of 155 kilometers per hour. Now pushing just west of Fuji there, with 175 kilometers per hour sustain winds.

But impressive presentation on satellite imagery. A very impressive storm for this particular region, in fact, this area of Fuji province had not had a category 2 landfall in about 10 years' time until a few hours ago when the storm moved to shore. We know about a hundred million people going to be on the path of tropical storm force winds. Look at the scenes across Taiwan as this storm just brushed by this region. And Taiwan home to some of the highest density of tall mountains anywhere on earth, in fact, upwards of 300 mountains that are about 3,000 meters high across this region.

So, all of this really does a great job of forcing the air to rise. When it force air to rise, it cools and condense and you have yourself tremendous rainfall on the leeward side of this and certainly that was the case, on the windward side I should say. And that was the case. With a lot of rainfall here as much as 400 millimeters has come down across portions of Taiwan.

Now the story focused across eastern China. Again 100 million people feeling tropical storm force winds and as much as 13 million people in the path of typhoon strength winds. The storm will move over land here and really begin to weaken gradually over the next several days, but watch what happen with what is left of it as the moves over land. The model actually indicates, the system will bring another several hundred millimeters of rainfall, but you can follow, it takes a right turn and as it does places like such as Beijing get some of the heavier rainfall later on this weekend. And in fact even the northern tier of the Korean peninsula and parts of eastern Russia also getting some very heavy rainfall as a result of this system and what is left of it. And Lynda, we're watching the seven-day forecast and in Beijing the

rain at least brings a little bit of relief that is much cooler temperature in the middle 20's but you know as we push to latter portion of the week there into the weekend. The sunny skies will come back, and with it big time heat comes back in Beijing as well. So a time of year where it's tremendously hot and humid across the portion of eastern Asia.

KINKADE: Certainly looking hot there. All right. Pedram, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.

JAVAHERI: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: Well, doctors say the boys rescued from a cave in Thailand are in good condition, but will remain in the hospital for about a week. The rescue effort truly has been a global operation and it captured the world's attention. CNN's Matt Rivers reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mission that defied the odds with an outcome that many are calling a miracle. If there are days when the forces of faith, science and sheer determination could be perfectly aligned, July 10th could be counted as one of them. With the successful rescue of the last of the boys from the Wild Boars football team and their coach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATOR): We managed to do something we never expected we could do. It's the world's first.

RIVERS: On June 23rd, the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach left their bikes at the entrance of the cave in Thailand. Monsoon rains trapped them so far inside the deep tavern in more than 1,000 troops and an international team of rescue workers couldn't find them for nearly ten days. First contact came on July 2nd. Two British divers find the boys and their coach huddled on a rock ledge, four kilometers into the cave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many of you? 13?

RIVERS: These were some of the first images the world would see of the boy's proof of life for desperate families in a galvanizing moment of the people trying to save them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are very strong.

RIVERS: In the following days a lifeline to the outside world was setup with divers carrying food and medicine into the cave and rescue workers working around the clock to pump water out of it, but on July 6th a tragic reminder of how dangerous this situation was. Sergeant Saman Kunan, a retired Thai Navy SEAL died as he returned from an operation to deliver oxygen tanks to the group.

[03:50:00] Meanwhile conditions in the cave continued to worsen. Oxygen levels dropped to dangerously low levels and more heavy rain where in the forecast. So on Sunday, July 8th, a day Thai officials called D-day, the first wave of rescue operations began. Four boys with a diver escort on either side navigated the tight twists, turns and sharp passages of the cave to be met on the outside by an elated global audience.

Monday a second rescue wave would follow with an additional four boys brought out. The last of the boys plus their coach emerged Tuesday along with a doctor and three Navy SEAL divers. For now the boys remain in a nearby hospital getting medical treatment not yet at home, but safe with the prospect of many more days to come. Matt Rivers, CNN, Shanghai, Thailand.

(END VIDEO)

KINKADE: Well, the Thai government is thanking people right around the world for their support throughout the rescue. They posted this story on Facebook with thank you written in several languages. The post reads, we would like to express our gratitude for all that you have done. We are most grateful for your support. Thank you for taking the time to help us. We really do appreciate it. From the bottom of our Thai hearts and under the drawing a simple message, "you are our heroes."

Well, President Trump may be thinking about a special present for Kim Jong-un. We'll explain next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, George Clooney says it's good to be alive after an accident on Tuesday morning on the island of Sardinia. The actor was thrown over the top of his scooter when he says a passing car cut him off hitting him head on. Clooney told a friend his head struck the windshield and he was thrown 30 feet. There were no broken bones or serious injuries, and fortunately he can resume filming a miniseries in the coming days.

Does that song sound familiar? Well, it should. It's currently number one on the billboard top 100. That is rapper Drake, must or what. But having the number one hit isn't all that. Drake has topped a record held by the Beatles. Back in 1964 the fab four had five songs in the top ten at once. Looking at this week's bill boards top 10, seven of the top 10 songs are Drake's. Numbers one, two, four, six, seven, eight, and nine. Incredible.

What should have gone so smoothly when the U.S. Secretary of State traveled to North Korea last week, he was meant to slip Kim Jong-un a little something special from President Donald Trump, but Kim snubbed Pompeo, so he missed out on that special gift, and Elton John cd with the song rocket man, but the U.S. President will not be denied and still hopes at some point to give the cd to his new besty, and yes this is for real. Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do you give to a dictator who has everything? President Trump really is giving Kim Jong-un a copy of the Elton John song that inspired that taunting nickname. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Little Rocketman.

Rocketman. Little Rocketman.

[03:55:02] MOOS: At the Trump-Kim summit, the nickname came up at lunch, a South Korean newspaper reports President Trump asked Kim if he knew the song, Kim said no. So when Secretary of State Pompeo visited North Korea the other day President Trump sent along a copy of the song autographed not by Elton John, but by the President. In the end the Secretary of State wasn't granted a meeting with Kim Jong-un, and now President Trump has confirmed --

TRUMP: They didn't give it. I have it for him. They didn't give it, but it will be given at a certain period.

MOOS: Twitted someone in disbelief, our president in making mix tapes for a dictator. Twitter was a gog wondering, what did Trump write on the cd? Guesses ranged from, I really like you, but I'm not good with words to hold me closer tiny dancer -- a song played at Trump rallies. He is an Elton John fan.

TRUMP: Elton John was a good friend of mine.

MOOS: Though the singer supported Hillary. Elton John isn't the only one singing Rocketman these days. A Kim impersonator sings this parody. President Trump's name-calling has gone from --

TRUMP: Rocketman --

MOOS: To --

TRUMP: Chairman Kim and I. I want to thank Chairman Kim.

MOOS: Will President Trump ever again call him Rocketman? Also a good bet for when North Korea will give up its nukes. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO)

KINKADE: Got to love a Jeanne Moos piece. Thanks so much for joining us for this edition of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Lynda Kinkade. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. The news continues with Max Foster in London. You're watching CNN.

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